Harney residents report anxieties

Jeff Wright @jeff_s_wright

Tuesday

Jan 12, 2016 at 12:01 AM

Residents of Harney County are reporting an increase in intimidating interactions with self identified militia members and other nonresidents, Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward said in a statement released Monday night.

Ward said his department is receiving “continual reports” of law enforcement officers and community members being followed home; of people sitting in cars outside their homes, observing their and their family members’ movements; and of people following them and their families as they move around the community.

“While not direct physical threats, these activities are clearly designed to try to intimidate,” Ward said in his statement.

Ward said he’s been told by officials at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that their employees have encountered similar incidents. The department manages the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, where an armed militia has occupied buildings since Jan. 2.

In addition, self-identified militia members “have attempted to engage (Fish and Wildlife) employees and their family members in debates about their status as federal employees,” Ward said in his statement. “Many of these confrontations are taking place as their employees are grocery shopping, running errands with their families and trying to lead their day-to-day lives.”

Ward asked residents with concerns about harassment or what they believe to be intimidating tactics to report them at 541-573-3162 — a phone number that is not monitored 24 hours a day. Anyone who feels their security is in immediate danger should call 911, Ward said.

Ward’s statement includes a list of the kind of activities that should be reported; the details that should be shared about such activities; and “prudent safety measures” to take at home or when in a vehicle.

Ward suggested, for example, that residents take alternating routes when coming and going from their homes.

Ward said his office first started to see “an up-tick in the number of vandalism, harassment and intimidation reports” when those who are now occupying the refuge first came to town several months ago.

“In recent days, they issued a ‘call to action,’ which resulted in the arrival of numerous outside militia members,” Ward said. “They claim to be here in peace, but we continue to see behavior by some that is concerning.”

Ward did not specifically identify or quantify the reports of intimidation or harassment, and did not indicate that anyone has been cited or charged with those or similar offenses.

Ward said that law enforcement agencies — including sheriff’s deputies from other counties around the state, Oregon State Police troopers and FBI agents — “will not be intimidated from doing their jobs.” He said law enforcement officials are committed to finding a peaceful resolution, “and the behavior of these folks from outside of our community only serves to escalate the situation unnecessarily.”

“The people on the refuge — and those who they have called to our community — obviously have no consideration for the wishes or needs of the people of Harney County,” Ward said. “If they did, they, too, would work to bring this situation to a peaceful close.”

The leader of the small, armed group occupying the wildlife refuge, meanwhile, said Monday that he and his followers are going through government documents stored inside refuge buildings.

Ammon Bundy told reporters the documents will be used to “expose” how the government has discriminated against local ranchers who use federal land for cattle grazing.

Bundy said the documents would also help secure the release of Steven and Dwight Hammond, two area ranchers convicted of arson who returned to prison last week to serve longer sentences. The Hammonds’ case set off the occupation of the Burns area refuge.

Bundy said his group is not accessing government computers at the refuge, including personnel files.

After a news conference, the group drove in a convoy to a ranch near the refuge and tore down a stretch of government-erected fence.

The goal, according to the armed men, was to give the rancher access to the range that had been blocked for years. It’s not clear where the fence was located or which rancher sought the group’s help.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokesman Jason Holm said because the documents and files at the refuge may have personally identifiable information, the agency “is taking necessary steps to ensure employee and family safety.”

The agency strongly condemned the destruction of the fence and said the action undermines hard-earned conservation impacts achieved in the area.

“Removing fences, damaging any refuge property, or unauthorized use of equipment would be additional unlawful actions by the illegal occupiers,” the agency said in a statement. “Any movement of cattle onto the refuge or other activities that are not specifically authorized by USFWS constitutes trespassing.”

Sixteen full-time employees and one part-time employee usually work at the refuge, Holm said. Some who can’t work away from the refuge have taken administrative leave, while others are working from home or another office.

In Burns, about 30 miles from the refuge, schools reopened after being canceled for a week over safety concerns due to the refuge standoff.

Government offices in the area remained closed, including those of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. BLM spokesman Randy Eardley said about 60 BLM employees are working from home.

“There is a very clear threat to BLM employees,” Eardley said, but he did not cite any specific threats.

Bundy called his group’s occupation of the refuge “peaceful” and said the armed men won’t leave until the Hammonds are out of prison and abuses against ranchers are exposed. Bundy called the occupation a “moral and righteous stand for the future of this country.”